Pitt-Bradford students ready to begin trails survey in ANF

Pitt-Bradford Students, led by Dr. Stephen Robar, associate professor of
political science, will be canvassing the Allegheny National Forest starting in
mid-May to conduct a full environmental analysis for the Pennsylvania KinzuaPathways proposed project “The Trails at Jakes Rocks.”

Representatives from PKP, Pitt-Bradford and the Allegheny National Forest attended a recent presentation by the students,
describing exactly how these eight to 10 students will accomplish the analysis
for the 47 miles of proposed mountain biking trails.

Starting in May, students will break into two teams and will begin the
work of studying, documenting, capturing on film and indexing all flora and
fauna found within 100 foot corridors of the proposed trail network. “These students will be able to provide more
detailed information than would have been provided if we had to use our own ANF
resources. We would not have been able
to commit this amount of time or this amount of ANF resources to this project," said ANF Planning Team Leader Steve Dowlan.

Students anticipate field work to be concluded by the second week of
August. Dowlan said the students will be
prepared to hit the ground running. He
and ANF Natural Resource Specialist Ava Turnquist have been working with the
students for several months now to prepare them for the work. They have reviewed
safety, conduct, study requirements, ANF protocols and a detailed list of what
to look for while in the forest. Turnnquist contributes expertise in
identification of flora, fauna and unique habitats, and will serve as mentor
for the students while the field work is in progress. Some of this preparation even includes
periodic quizzes.

“We were blown away by the quality, content and the level of detail in
this presentation," said PKP’s Joe Colosimo. Colosimo said that the students have exceeded
all expectations in what they provided and the level of planning they have put
into this. “As an alumnus and adjunct faculty member for the university, I know
first-hand the high level of professionalism and depth of experience in the
staff. Based on what we saw today, the
students are picking up on that and carrying the torch with ease. They have
definitely raised the bar. ”

PKP’s Ines Nelson and Coralee
Wenzel mirrored each other’s comments by saying, “PKP and the Trails at Jakes
Rocks partners could not be more pleased with what we saw and heard today. These students have an obvious passion for
their future vocations and are excited to be part of this and we are equally
excited to be part of this experience with them.” The students are all part of the environmentalstudies and biology programs at Pitt-Bradford.

“These students will be gaining
valuable, hands-on experience that will better position them in the job market,”
Robar said. It is not often that an
undergraduate student has the opportunity to graduate with real field study and
environmental research under their belts.

Dowlan has had previous experience in working with university students in
Oregon and has seen the positive impact on both the projects and the students. “Working with these young adults is really a
win for the project, the partners, the students, the ANF and the university,” he
said. Additional opportunities to team
up have already started and the group anticipates even more in the future.

PKP and all the partners have been working very hard behind the scenes
putting in place the resources to make this possible. In order for the students to work over the
summer, the team had to make arrangements for housing, gas to get to the
project, and a weekly stipend. PKP’s Chris Hobbs said “some of these students
will graduate this month and are foregoing looking for work in order to gain
this valuable experience. Other students
are skipping their normal summer employment to do this work.” There are resources and support that had to
be provided and these come at a cost.
“We have been fortunate to have great community partners in both
Bradford and Warren that understand the impact this project will have on the Pa
Wilds region,” Hobbs said.

“There is a need for more
support,” said Colosimo. Through the
efforts of the partners, the team has been able to secure both the housing and
the gas necessary for the project and have secured a commitment for the
stipend. However, the group is still
looking for additional donors to support the stipend needs of the project. “This is not so much a donation to a project
as it is an investment in these students,” Colosimo said. “We very much appreciate the generous
support of all those that are involved in this project. The team is looking to secure some additional
funds in order to lighten the load on the donor that has guaranteed the stipend
so that we could proceed.”

Anyone wishing to help with support of this project can contact PKP at pakinzuapathways@yahoo.com or www.pennsylvaniakinzuapathways.com.
You can also contact PKP member Joe Colosimo at 814.730.2188. PKP is a Warren Gives participant. Any funds received during this online
fundraising event on May 8th will be directed toward this and other
PKP projects.